Masracetus
Genus of mammals
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Masracetus (from Arabic Masr, "Egypt", and Greek ketos, "whale")[1] is an extinct genus of basilosaurid ancient whale known from the Late Eocene (Priabonian, 37.2 to 33.9 million years ago) of Egypt.[2]
| Masracetus Temporal range: | |
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| Restoration | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | †Basilosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Dorudontinae |
| Genus: | †Masracetus Gingerich 2007 |
| Species | |
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Masracetus was briefly described in an addendum by Gingerich 2007 and is known from just an assemblage of vertebrae and a poorly reconstructed skull from 1908. The lumbar vertebrae are large but relatively short (anteroposteriorly) compared to those of other archaeocetes; the diameter is almost the same as for Basilosaurus isis but the length is less than half of the latter. Masracetus is larger than Cynthiacetus,[3] but it is suggested that the former might be synonymized as a junior synonym with the latter.[4]
The species name honours Richard Markgraf, palaeontologist Ernst Stromer's fossil collector, who collected the type specimen in 1905.[1]
Masracetus' type locality is the Birket Qarun Formation in Dimê (29.5°N 30.7°E, paleocoordinates 24.9°N 26.6°E) north of lake Birket Qarun,[5] but specimens have also been found in the Qattara Depression and Fayum.[6][7][8][9]
